
I haven't had a very good week again this week, being sick and feeling very unsociable but on the flip side I have been able to get some reading done and most of it has been this book(above) by Phillip Yancy.
I guess one of the things that I have enjoyed reading about, actually maybe enjoy is not the right word but I have found it interesting to muse on the facts surrounding Jesus socio-economic background.
Firstly- Teen pregnancy
Second- In Mary and Joseph's home town he would always be seen as an illegitimate child.
Third- Born into a very poor family.
Fourth- Born in a country area whose locals had the reputation of being a bit simple.
Fifth- His disciples were also mostly from that same area. You know the phrase we are like those we associate with.
Jesus certainly wasn't given any privilege in his birth stature. We are not given much information of Jesus growing up but we can gain a little insight from this information. We can safely assume his life was not one of luxuries. We can not know but we can imagine people might have snickered at him behind his back, questioning his parentage. When he was out on his travels people from other areas would have known where he was from by his name and maybe an accent. They would have assumed that he was not an intelligent man, people were then surprised by him when he spoke.
I guess what has made me bring up this particular points from the book is that I am everyday reminded what a blessing I have been given by being born in Australia. It is a beautiful country with abundant resources such as food, material goods, and sunshine and most blessedly I am free to worship God. In Australia the vast majority of people would consider themselves middle-class, but if we think about what other countries consider middle-class we can consider ourselves blessed.
Gorgeous Husband's Granddad is heading a group of men and women to Papa New Guinea on Tuesday. They are heading into the mountainous area where they will be walking 4 hours from where their internal flight drops them off. I ask that you pray for them and the people that they are going to serve. They will be taking with them both spiritual and material gifts and I really urge you to pray that this trip is a real blessing for them all. I would also ask for prayers for those family who are sending out their loved ones for I believe they too are sacrificing much.
Thank-you if you have read to the end of this rather superfluous
posting.
















